Large data centers may have rooms that contain multiple specialized racks to hold various types of computing equipment. In addition, each of these racks may hold multiple pieces of computing hardware that provide storage and computing power for organizations or individuals. For example, a data center may contain racks of hard drives and servers that process data and transmit information over a network. Over time, these pieces of hardware may require maintenance and may eventually need to be replaced.
Traditionally, equipment such as hard drives may be installed in a carrier and then transferred to a drawer in a data-center rack. Installing and removing computing equipment may also require specialized tools for mounting or dismounting. For example, when a hard drive failure is detected, a technician may need to use tools to remove the carrier containing the hard drive and then use additional tools to remove the hard drive from the carrier. Technicians may also need to quickly identify the correct hard drives within a rack. This may become a tedious process when multiple hard drives need servicing. Furthermore, some data centers may use automated machines and robots to perform basic services, including installing and removing hard drives. The machines and robots may need to accurately identify hard drives and carry and use the correct tools for swapping them. For these data centers, the complexity of the process may prove to be a challenging hurdle for automation. Therefore, data centers may need improved methods to secure hard drives in racks.